FOR YOUNG VIEWERS

FOR YOUNG VIEWERS; Hard-Hatted Hero of the Building Block Set

By Kathryn Shattuck

Published: January 14, 2001

They may not be the next Backstreet Boys, but Bob, Scoop, Muck, Lofty, Dizzy and Roley have gained enough of a cult following to make their show - a half-hour animated series called ''Bob the Builder'' - the top-ranking preschool program in Britain, Germany, Australia and Japan since its BBC premiere in April 1999.

And tomorrow at 10 a.m. they're making their American debut on Nickelodeon.

''I think that Bob speaks a universal language of 'let's all do this together, let's all work together,' '' said Brown Johnson, senior vice president of Nick Jr. ''And I think that stop-motion'' - a form of animation in which actual physical models are manipulated one frame at a time - ''is a great addition to our lineup.''

Set within Bob's Building Yard, the series chronicles the everyday adventures of Bob; his business partner, Wendy; and their gang of furry friends and talking machines as they cooperate and resolve conflicts while playing and working together.

Geared to children 2 to 5 as part of the Nick Jr., programming block, ''Bob the Builder'' covers a curriculum that includes counting, identifying sounds and understanding emotions in 26 episodes that have been reworked with American voices and more female characters for its new audience.

In the two years since his creation, Bob has become something of a national obsession in Britain, opening shopping centers during the holiday season, inspiring serious contemplation in Master Builder magazine on whether his fictional lifestyle is indeed a reality, and, once, inciting a riot. He even has his own song, which recently hit the No. 2 spot on British pop charts.

Whether Bob mania sweeps the United States remains to be seen, but Nickelodeon, for one, is betting on it.